This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/712,951, filed Aug. 31, 2005, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with artificial wound healing systems.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,906,036, issued to Quirk, et al., anti-aging and wound healing compounds are disclosed. These compounds include inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases that are useful for encouraging the development of healthy skin and for treating wounds. The inhibitors are said to be peptides having sequences related to cleavage regions of the proenzyme forms of matrix metalloproteinases. The peptides were formulated into therapeutic compositions, lotions, creams, skin covering and wound dressings that facilitate healing and healthy skin development, discourage scarring and wrinkling and ameliorate the effects of healing.
Yet another example of a wound dressing is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,822,132, issued to Ahrens, et al. The dressing is said to be especially useful for covering wounds or preventing or treating blisters, in which a water vapor pervious carrier film uniformly covered with an adhesive layer, wherein there is centrally disposed on the adhesive layer a water vapor pervious polyurethane matrix that is beveled from an especially central point to the edge of the adhesive layer, although the periphery of the adhesive layer is at least partially not covered by the polyurethane matrix.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,257 teaches the use of composite fibers for wound dressings and a method for making same. An absorbent, composite fiber with a matrix of from 10% to less than 50% of water insoluble alginate having dispersed therein at least 40% of another polysaccharide is taught. Absorbent fibers for use in wound treatment are well known in the art, e.g., cellulose fibers, chemically modified cellulose fibers, pectin fibers, alginate fibers, chitosan fibers, hyaluronic acid fibers or other polysaccharide fibers or fibers derived from gums. In the treatment of wounds it is desirable to use fibers made from pectin or carboxymethyl cellulose but the known processes for making such fibers are complex and expensive and the resulting fibers not always viable. For instance it is known to make carboxymethyl cellulose fibers by chemically converting preformed cellulose fibers. It is also known that both pectin fibers and carboxymethyl cellulose fibers are difficult to spin.